It started with a plastic foam cup.

That was the first thing sophomore Katie Phillips received during a visit to TCU’s admission office as a prospective student.

The Monterey, California native said she was surprised. Her hometown banned polystyrene foam food service containers in 2009. 

As members of the House of Student Representatives, Phillips and Jacob Greenstein are pushing for more student-led sustainability efforts at TCU.

At Tuesday’s Student Government Association meeting, representatives passed a resolution to create an ad hoc committee to advance student sustainability efforts on campus.

The duo wants to do away with paper agendas at House meetings. They want to add a paper bag option at Union Grounds, biodegradable food containers at the dining halls and a sustainability education program on campus.

“For me, I want to make what we do visable,” Phillips said. “There are some things that TCU does behind the scenes, but it’s not coming from the students.”

More than 70 percent of waste on campus is recycled. But instead of recycling bins for student use, the university pays an Arlington company to sort the trash, according to the TCU Sustainability Program. 

Other Big 12 schools, such as Iowa State and the University of Texas at Austin, have recycling containers and trash compactors on campus for student to use.

“The main thing is education,” Student Body Treasurer Lydia Longoria said. “I think a lot of times TCU students don’t realize how fortunate we are to have a lot of things done for us.”